Method of forming buttons and the like



Dec. 29 1925- 1,568,030

R. 1.. WILCOX Filed March 19, 1923 Patented Daze, 1925. p

UNITED ST -res 1,568,030 PATENT OFFICE.

- nrcn'ann LESTER wrnoox, orwarmmumr, connnc'rrcu'r, assrenoa TO THE warn-nun! ramn I'QUNDBY AND mcnnm courmmor WATERBURY, comc'ncn'r, A oonronanon on coimncrrcnr,

men or routine BUTTONS .uin rm: LIKE.

Application ni a kmn- 1a, 1923. Serial No. team.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I. RICHARD Lnsran cox, a citizen of the United States, resid= ing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Methodspf Formi Buttons and the like, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the' g I wherein 11 designates a die, and 12 a punch, within which is a relatively movable sleeve accompanying drawings.

buttons and the ike, and refers more particularly to a t pe of button that is secured by means oter than a thread. g I

It is the object of this invention, among other things, to .produce a button of this character, and of anendless variet of sha es, 'from a single piece of meta by too s that are simple in their construction and operation.

To these, and other endsfmy invention consists in the method of forming buttons and the like, substantially as hereinafter shown an described. v

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in the several figures;

Fig. ljillustrates end and side views of a slug or blankfrom which \the button is ma e;-

. Fig. 2' illustrates similar views of the blank after an'operation thereon;-

Fig. 3 illustrates similar views of the blank after an 'o eration thereon subseuent to the one t at 'produced the blank s own in Fig. 2;

Figj? is a similar view of one form of the tools utilized to shape the blank as shown therein andlillustrated in Fig. 3; and Fig. 8 isa similar view of one form of the This invention relates to a new and im proved method of forming The blank 10 is presented to a set of tools, substantially as shown in Fig. 6,

14 of substantiall the same diameter as the shank 17 as s own in Fig. 2. Within the sleeve is the supplemental punch 13 j that is actuated in part by the spring 15 in a manner well known in'the art. The opposite faces of the die 11 and punch 12 are shaped so that when in the relative positions, shown in Fig. 6, the head 16 of the utton'is formed therebetween upon one end of the blank, the other end of which forms the shank 17 and pro'ects into the opening 18 in the unch 12. the blank 1s composed is too hard to permit the forming of the head 16 in one blow, the same may be subjected to such additional blows as may be requisite and as is commonin the head' art.

w The operations upon t e blank performed by the tools, as shown in Fig. 6, are comp eted by the movement of the supplemental punch 13, which is projected into the end of the blank to form the opening therein, which is of substantially uniform diameter, with a rounded or other shaped bottom, as desired. After the withdrawal of the punches 12 and 13 and their associated parts, the blank is held against the face of .the die '11 by the fingers 20, substantially. as shown in "Figs. 7 and 8. Thereafter a punch 21 with a conical recess 22 therein engages and cones the shank 17, at which time the outer end of the opening 19 therein is reduced in diameter, substantially as shown' and without reducing the shape or size of the bottom thereof, which opemng is now substantially pear shaped, as shown in 3 and 7.

fter the withdrawal of f the punch 21,

a punch 23, having a supplemental punch 24, engages the end of. the shank 17, and by the apphcation of pressure thereon reduces its length. During this operation, the inner reduced end 25 of the punch 24 projects f the metal of which into the opening 19 and determines the size and shape thereof at its outer end, the shoulder 26 on this punch forming a depression 27 in the end of the shank substantially concentric with the opening 19, the inner end of which is now a pocket 28 of Very much larger diameter than that portion 29 of the opening leading therefrom.

In the drawings, the head 16 is shown as being cylindrical, but it may be of any desired shape. This has not heretofore been ossible, and in addition thereto, letters,

gures, symbols or the like, may be formed thereon by making provision therefor upon either the die or the punches or both.

, In Fig. 5 the button is shown as attached to a fabric 80 or the like, by a tack 31, which passes through the fabric, and the pointed end 32 thereof engages the end of the pocket 28, which acts as an anvil for said point, which is turned upon itself and substantially fills. the pocket and cannot readily be withdrawn therefrom.-

Having described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The hereindescribed method of making buttons, which resides in subjecting a blank to endwise ressure to form a head, and a hollow sha then in subjecting the blank to lateral pressure thereby to taper the free end portion of the shank so as to cause the interior thereof to be of substantially. pear-shape, and finally in subjecting the shank to endwise pressure to reduce the length of the shank and in arresting the inward flow of the metal to reduce the diameter of the outer portion of the shank in-- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

\ RICHARD LESTER WILCOX. 

